Hopes and Goals
“Be the change you wish to see in the world” – Mahatma Gandhi
My hope is that my personal journey of new understanding and self reflections continue to go beyond the walls of this classroom so that I can continue to build a strong understanding of how to support diversity in our learning environments and advocate for equity and social justice within these environments and that of our communities. I am hopeful that I can be a positive influence in the development of children’s understanding of equity and social justice and the power that they have in creating social change.
Change comes slowly, but what change does occur is a step forward in achieving the goal of a world that supports and celebrates our diversities and the richness that it brings to each one of us. I encourage each person that works towards the goal of social change to celebrate each moment of success. Each of these little moments are goals achieved and make a big difference in the individual who has been supported, celebrated, and empowered through this work.
Image from http://www.ethicalgifts.net.au/inc/sdetail/2145
Thank you to Dr. Ferrari and each of my colleagues. Your willingness to openly share and discuss personal issues relating to diversity, inequity, and injustice has had an incredible impact on my journey and personal growth. It is inspiring and encouraging knowing that we are not alone in our work to make this world a better place for the children and families we serve. I am incredibly thankful for the opportunities I have been given to get to know each of you better and I am hoping and looking forward to continuing our studies together.
Sandra
Early Childhood Studies 
Hi Sandra, I really appreciate your hope that self reflections continue to go beyond the walls of classroom! It is through resources from diverse people or media that we can update our knowledge, self correct our stereotyping concepts, to co-construct what we have known. Thanks to this course and this program, I think I have made my first step and will carry on with this! Thank you for your insightful posts!
Happy Holidays!
Xiaowan
Hello Sandra,
I enjoyed reading your blog and the quote you have available on your page. I like the face you are willing to continue to do a self reflection in order to understand diversity and advocate for social justice and equity within the classroom. I agree with the quote from Mr. Nelson Mandela and other educators who believe people are not born racist or with hatred, but it is learned behavior/taught. As a society it is essential that we can safely move toward building positive relationship as well as teaching the children to love one other. This world is a melting pot of where diversity comes in different shapes, color, culture and ethnicity. It is essential that we look pass someone differences and embrace what they have to bring to the table, in order to have a better understand who they are and where they come from. There are much we can learn from each other and the cultural history and background in which they are part of.
Sandra,
I enjoyed reading you post it was very inspiring and encouraged me to do all that I can even beyond my classroom to ensure that young children and their families have access to an anti-bias education. You quotes were perfect representations of various concepts and therories we discussed in this course. I am so grateful to Dr. Ferrari who helped coach and developed us to be dynamic leaders in early childhood education. I have high hopes for all of us and more importantly, I have high expectations of myself because encourage to push pass my own personal understanding to dig deeper my make connections that stimulated my professional growth.
Sandra,
I really enjoyed reading your post during this course and the previous courses. Thank you for sharing your inspiring knowledge because it gave me better understanding of the topics discussed. I also appreciate all of your support and encouragement you have provided to me. May God continue to bless you as accomplish your goals!
Greetings Sandra,
The changes and the steps necessary to achieve the ultimate goal of equity and social justice indeed requires each individual person to acknowledge his/her own self-bias. Herein, through this self assessment we as a whole take a step towards reduce social issues that cause hostile interactions. I encourage you to continue with your pursuit towards being a change agent within your environment. Thank you for the multiple discussions which have taken place throughout this course. Best wishes to you and your endeavors.